My couture collection – a cross between magic and camouflage

by
marlies|dekkers

All my work as a feminist designer is inspired by muses. Powerful female icons from past and present. Although women have been marginalized for centuries, archetypes of female power have always been there. Through my designs, I bring them to you. To help us shape the world of modern-day feminism.

This season, I explore the legacy of the legendary costume designer Edith Head, an icon of Hollywood glamour who lived by her own motto “You can have anything you want in life if you dress for it.” Edith designed costumes for hundreds of movies and won a record eight Academy Awards; think of classics such as All About Eve (1950), Roman Holiday (1953) and The Sting (1973). She helped shape the female Hollywood archetypes we know today – from the Femme Fatale to the Sex Goddess – but perhaps more importantly: she empowered women all over the world with her style wisdom. Even now, when I design my lingerie, I often think of how she described her work: ‘a cross between magic and camouflage’. My Hollywood Glam collection is no exception to that: a spectacular black-and-gold set that combines a perfect, flattering fit with silver screen worthy sparkle. I was inspired by Edith’s sensational wardrobe for Barbara Stanwyck’s role as burlesque stripper Sugarpuss O’Shea. (Ball of fire, 1941).

To wake up your inner Sugarpuss, I used gold-coloured sequins, black lace and gorgeous little satin bows and created lingerie that can infuse any wardrobe with some much-needed glitz. “Some people need sequins, others don’t,” Edith liked to say. Well, this season, I decided we could all use some Hollywood glam! Dare to sparkle!

With my Couture Collection I tell a story through lavish, one-of-a-kind designs using rich, luxurious materials. This season, I was inspired by Edith Head’s genius tailoring and Hollywood glamour. The result is a spectacular display of craftsmanship: individual fabric panels were embroidered with rows of gold-coloured sequins – piece by piece, size by size – before being constructed into the lavish pieces you see on these pages. The sunburst pattern of the sequins is designed to give your figure that desirable Hollywood hourglass shape.

Marlies Says

Happy Women’s Day! I am extra excited about this edition, because wow, what a year it’s been for feminism! This is the year that we went global; that we showed up with our money, our bodies, our time and our voices to show the world: this is OUR time!

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When I think of someone who is the embodiment of the highest level of expression, I have to think of German opera superstar Nadja Michael (47). This fearless feminine feminist is absolutely unforgettable in roles like Medea, Salomé and Lady Macbeth, performing phenomenally not just as a singer, but also a dancer and actress. How does she do it?

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She started out as a contestant on the Norwegian version of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’; a few years later her debut single ‘Sunrise’ reached triple platinum status. But what makes Norwegian/Cuban star Alexandra Joner (27) such a feminine feminist icon is the fearless fun with which she expresses herself; in her singing and acting, but also in her fabulously sexy looks (often wearing marlies|dekkers, of course!). “I am fighting to make ‘sexy’ a positive thing!”

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With her stunning staged photographs, Dutch artist Marie Cécile Thijs (1965) connects the past with the present in an intensely poetic, painterly way. Originally a lawyer, she decided more than fifteen years ago to follow her love for the camera. In just a short period of time, Marie Cécile became an internationally acclaimed artist whose works are included in the collections of museums like the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and the Museum of Photographic Arts San Diego. She has also presented her art at TEFAF (widely regarded as the world’s pre-eminent fair of art and antiques), Art Miami and Photo Shanghai. For her signature series ‘White Collar’, Marie Cécile photographed the only surviving 17th-century pleated ruff in the world, then digitally added it to her models for an almost surreal, mesmerizing result.